Another one BITES THE DUST

Zinfer

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Well, there goes another one. One of our local Radio Shacks just closed at the last, sole remaining Mall we have with it's doors still open.
I'd been predicting this for some time though, unfortunately. With them selling such niche things like cell phones and ditching their electronic component line almost entirely - it was just a matter of time.
Hello Mail order for electronics components. Guess I'll be buying my resistors by the hundreds to make up for the shipping costs.
A fond farewell to a Radio Shack that's been in business in the Mall for something like 40 years.
What's left? They've removed all the fountains, kyosks everywhere, raised the rent, closed storefronts, wiped out my old arcade and sold that real estate to Elder Beerman's. Nothing left of it and I and friends have absolutely no idea, where it used to be. They've blocked off half the entrances that once were there, and they haven't made one single improvement to that Mall since 1955.
 
Its so strange to see how some malls go off and die... Kinda sad too.
 
Well, there goes another one. One of our local Radio Shacks just closed at the last, sole remaining Mall we have with it's doors still open.
I'd been predicting this for some time though, unfortunately. With them selling such niche things like cell phones and ditching their electronic component line almost entirely - it was just a matter of time.
Hello Mail order for electronics components. Guess I'll be buying my resistors by the hundreds to make up for the shipping costs.
A fond farewell to a Radio Shack that's been in business in the Mall for something like 40 years.
What's left? They've removed all the fountains, kyosks everywhere, raised the rent, closed storefronts, wiped out my old arcade and sold that real estate to Elder Beerman's. Nothing left of it and I and friends have absolutely no idea, where it used to be. They've blocked off half the entrances that once were there, and they haven't made one single improvement to that Mall since 1955.

That sucks.... Radio Shack has been expanding their electronic component section around here. They put in a drawer system and increased drawer capacity after a while. They started stocking micro controller kits and sensors, etc. They are targeting the make: crowd and hobbyist a little more out in the open. Of course the, expanding what they had doesn't mean much since they had cut back so far in the first place.

Hopefully a new on pops up somewhere better for them to survive.
 
Just sucks that you can't tell anything to executives. They always know best and you can't tell them anything, they just educate you about how right they are. At least until the month prior and at that point they're down to 2 employees and they have no power to change anything about how right they were all along.
I gave what I thought to be, helpful advice to this very Radio Shack a year ago that they needed to get back to what made them a strong successful company and what brought them into being. Unfortunately I was just talking to a tool that knew nothing about the company and was just there for food and I'm positive nothing got passed up the chain. They listen to noone. Much like many companies and people in power. They just look at figures and numbers.
There are very few 'makers' left. Few thinkers, and the shame of it is, the only thing that drives the 'thinkers' is capitalism rather than creativity and the thought of 'building something'.
This is, I guess what happens when bean counters rise the corporate ladder. There's no accounting for common horse sense.
It's funny, not in a haha way, where everyone on the radiowaves proclaims were here for you. Were here to help you. Were there for you. The only reason we exist is to serve you. To see on an everyday scale, they haven't the least interest in hearing what you have to say. Your interest is not their interest and actually, it's quite the opposite.
 
I read an article over the past summer how malls are going the way of the Drive-In theatres. In our youth, there were huge malls dotted throughout the suburban landscapes. Within 10-15 years they'll be a rarity. I guess that might be a good thing...maybe the old Main St. locations will come back~~
Jay
 
I sense anger...

This kind of reminds me of whats happening to Crestwood Plaza in South Saint Louis. My childhood home is right behind it with an industrial zone inbetween. That place was THE place to hang back then. Now with the expansion of other nearby malls, Crestwood Plaza has become a ghost town.

Couldnt agree more about RS too. That mall also had one and it was great when they had more selection of neat stuff and more components. And it was nice to go in there without someone leaning over you almost the entire time your in the store. If you needed help, you asked, and most of the time they acually knew stuff, now its usually teenagers who know nothing but cell phones. Needless to say it was one of the first stores to enter that mall and it was one of the first to leave when things started going downhill. They also had a wireless dealer right next door anyway. But I ramble. Memories...
 
The malls out here in NJ seem to be doing pretty well. Its the non mall locations that are becoming ghost towns. 1/2 empty strip malls are common.

We have an office in Columbus and I go there 3-4 times a year... I am always suprised by the how well built up the city is with VERY little tourism. You can walk into virtually any resturant and not wait for a table at the height of the dinner rush, and the Polaris mall.. while nice seems to always be pretty empty. Ohio has been hit really hard by the recession. Unfortunately my company isnt helping matters. We are laying off over 1/2 the staff in that office come the first of the year. At least the company told them it was coming a few months ago so they could start looking for jobs.

Malice95
 
On a happier note, the mall in Fargo, ND (West Acres) is booming. Just added on a huge amount of additional square feet, updated the interior completely, has lots of neat stores and a huge food court (no arcade, though -that closed a few years ago). It's gorgeous.

The one where I live in Bismarck is kept alive by Target and Scheels. Without those two stores, I'm convinced it would close. Same story - high rent, ugly interior, no arcade, theater was closed, arcade closed, no food other than Subway and Arbys, etc. Sad.
 
There's no money in it - period. Can you imagine their overhead alone - OMG What a nightmare it would be trying to make that business work on a large scale - Selling solder and resistors isn't going to pay the bills. They can't match big box stores on pricing for regular items either. I'm sure they love the fact that they're like the only retail chain selling a lot of this shit, but if they can't expand more business into education, gov't, or manufacture to cut costs, I think we'll see them continue to thin out.
 
@zinfer - you should take pics and post them to deadmalls.com.

in general, malls our here are steadily dying. what's getting real popular is the outdoor open space mall. (like a small few block neighborhood of stores, with a couple of anchors and a movie theater.) basically the same as a mall except they're outside, not inside.
 
Well, there goes another one. One of our local Radio Shacks just closed at the last, sole remaining Mall we have with it's doors still open.
I'd been predicting this for some time though, unfortunately. With them selling such niche things like cell phones and ditching their electronic component line almost entirely - it was just a matter of time.
Hello Mail order for electronics components. Guess I'll be buying my resistors by the hundreds to make up for the shipping costs.
A fond farewell to a Radio Shack that's been in business in the Mall for something like 40 years.
What's left? They've removed all the fountains, kyosks everywhere, raised the rent, closed storefronts, wiped out my old arcade and sold that real estate to Elder Beerman's. Nothing left of it and I and friends have absolutely no idea, where it used to be. They've blocked off half the entrances that once were there, and they haven't made one single improvement to that Mall since 1955.



same story to the machesney patrk mall here built late 70s ran into the ground raised the rent to the point of rediculous and now its a dead empty shell
 
OK, I have to ask this. Is it the economy, the internet shopping, or both?

Dunno, maybe just tastes changing. It's happening at the national level, malls are dying all over the place.

I for one am sick and tired of parking outside in a huge ass parking lot and then walking forever to get inside and then walking forever inside the mall to get to where I want to go.

The strip mall / outside mini-downtowns are what's taking over and I enjoy shopping there a lot more.
 
Yea, I'll have to take a few pics of the American Mall, but I think there are some out there. I've heard they are going to demolish it here very soon. It's completely closed now, so you can't get into it. All locked up. Probably some weeds growing inside by now. Unheated, just a vast empty lot of halls. I watched Tron when it first came out there. I worked in my first arcade job there, just for the fun of it. Had takeout Parassons for lunch on lunch break. Bought my smokes at the drug store across the isle while my arcade manager then made a dash for the cash box, then asked me where it was after I returned. Wondered why I always came up short on my check every week?
I'd taken to hiding the cash box after about 3 episodes of coming up short. Then found out why I was coming up short after that incident. Scumsucker stealing from his own employees.
 
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